US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on 7 April, a summit that had been hastily arranged during Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary. The two men discussed a range of security and economic issues, most notably Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip and stalled negotiations over a new ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Palestinian militants; the Iranian nuclear issue; Israeli Turkish tensions in Syria; and the US tariffs on Israel.
Background and Context
Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu reflected a need shared by both sides, and each exploited it to serve his own political interests. For Trump, Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, where the Israeli leader requested an exemption from the new 17% tariffs Trump had imposed on Israel, and Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel would scrap tariffs on all imports from the US, represented a success for Washington’s trade strategy, based on the premise that world leaders would now come to him pleading for new trade agreements.[1]
Trump’s decision on 2 April to impose varying tariffs on imports from countries across the world had sparked a sharp decline in stock markets and raised fears of a recession, both in the US and globally. Trump is facing criticism from a growing segment of the American public, concerned about the rising prices of goods and services, which has led a number of Republicans in both the House and the Senate to oppose the tariffs, fearing the policy could lead to their defeat in the 2026 midterm elections.
Netanyahu, who faces numerous domestic and foreign challenges, travelled to Washington hoping to win Trump’s support. Although he had recently succeeded in expanding his coalition by bringing on board Gideon Sa’ar’s “New Hope” party, he is still hoping to carry out what he describes as a “comprehensive reform” of the judiciary, in an attempt to evade the corruption charges he is facing.[2] He is also pressing on in his efforts to evade responsibility for the failure to prevent the 7 October attacks, and to place the blame on the security and military services.[3]
Netanyahu has also obstructed efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal with Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, despite pressure from the public, political forces and the security establishment in Israel to conclude an agreement. On the policy front, Netanyahu has sought to ensure Trump’s continued support for Israel in its aggression against the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as US pressure on Türkiye to withdraw its military presence in Syria. Most importantly, he has sought to convince Trump of the need to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme through joint US-Israeli military action.
Although Trump made every effort to heap praise and flattery on Netanyahu at the White House press conference, he also sent him implicit messages regarding Iran, tensions with Türkiye, the war in Gaza, and even tariffs. Trump did not hesitate to remind his visitor that Israel receives $4 billion annually from the US.[4] This led a number of Israeli commentators to conclude that Netanyahu had failed to achieve some of his goals from the meeting, and that Trump had succeeded in establishing a new modus operandi with Netanyahu, in which he was the decision-maker,[5] in contrast to the dynamics of the relationship between his predecessor Joe Biden and the Israeli prime minister.
Topics Covered at the Summit
1. Iran
The US president’s announcement of direct talks between Washington and Tehran “at the highest level” was the main takeaway from his meeting with Netanyahu.[6] Trump’s statements, in Netanyahu’s presence, constituted an implicit message to the latter that his administration could sign a nuclear deal with Iran, were its terms to be met. Trump appears to have made a point of announcing the Iran talks in Netanyahu’s presence, as an implicit warning to the Israeli PM not to attempt to thwart them.[7]
That said, Trump’s announcement of direct talks with Tehran and his optimism about the possibility of signing a nuclear agreement were accompanied by threats to resort to military means in the event that the negotiations fail. For weeks, Trump has been threatening Iran with possible military action to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. He said in late March that “If the talks aren’t successful, I think it’s going to be a very bad day for Iran,” threatening “bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”[8]
The Trump administration believes that Iran has recently been weakened so much that a nuclear deal could be within reach this time around.[9] Hezbollah has been weakened in Lebanon, Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been toppled in Syria, Iraqi Shiite factions are out of the conflict with Israel after a series of heavy American strikes, and the Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) in Yemen have been under intense US air attacks since mid-March.
On top of the neutralization or weakening of its allies, Iran is suffering domestically as a result of the “maximum pressure”[10] policy that Washington pursued against it after the Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018 – pressure that the Biden administration maintained. US intelligence assessments indicate that during its October 2024 attack, Israel succeeded in destroying Iran’s air defences, as well as severely damaging its missile production facilities, critically exposing Iran’s sensitive nuclear and military sites to future attacks. For weeks, the US has been beefing up its military presence in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean, including with long-range B-52 strategic bombers. It has also sent a second THAAD anti-ballistic missile defence battery to Israel, as well as two other Patriot systems, to bolster Israel’s air defences in the event of a military attack on Iran (and an Israeli retaliation).[11]
Despite this pressure, the Trump administration has been offering Tehran an alternative, diplomatic path. Last month, Trump sent a letter via the United Arab Emirates to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, urging him to come to the negotiating table over his country’s nuclear programme – or face more sanctions or even military action. Khamenei responded by refusing to negotiate under threat.[12] Iran also said it would not agree to talks on dismantling its nuclear program, which it insists is for peaceful purposes, nor to discussions on its influence in the Middle East or its ballistic missile program, as demanded by the Trump administration.[13] Netanyahu insists that the only deal he could accept is the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear programme, as with that of Libya in 2003. In his view, the Iranian nuclear programme must be completely dismantled and destroyed “under American supervision and implementation” – or else the country must face the “military option.”[14]
2. The War on Gaza
During his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump also repeated his proposal that the US take control of the Gaza Strip. Trump described Gaza as “a great location that nobody wants to live in,” and reiterated the idea of evacuating Palestinians from it, noting that “plenty of countries” are willing to accept Palestinian refugees. At the same time, however, he expressed his desire to see “another ceasefire” and the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, adding that “I think the war will stop at some point that won’t be in the too distant future.” Also present at the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu was Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who played a key role in brokering the first ceasefire agreement in January. Some observers believe that Wikoff’s patience with Netanyahu’s machinations has started to wear thin.[15] Some in Washington suspect that Trump may want a ceasefire in place before his visit next month to Saudi Arabia, which he hopes to persuade to join the Abraham Accords with Israel.[16]
3. Israeli Turkish Tensions
Netanyahu appears to have failed to secure clear support from Trump for his stance against Türkiye. He even received a rebuke from the president after complaining about Türkiye’s efforts to establish military bases on Syrian territory, claiming that this posed a “danger to Israel.”[17] Trump responded by talking up his relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Since the fall of the Assad regime last year, Israel has occupied new areas of Syrian territory and continued to launch airstrikes against Syrian military installations, bases, and airports, including sites where Ankara and the new rulers in Damascus had agreed to establish Turkish military bases. When Netanyahu asked Trump to mediate with Erdoğan to prevent Türkiye country from expanding its influence in Syria, Trump responded by saying, “Any problem that you have with Turkey, I think I can solve.” However, he added, in what was interpreted as a rebuke: “I mean, as long as you’re reasonable. You have to be reasonable.”
Conclusion
President Trump appears to have wanted to achieve two main goals from his meeting with Netanyahu. The first was to strengthen his own domestic position in the US regarding the tariff issue, which is causing widespread unrest in financial markets and on the American street. This is despite the fact that Israel is a relatively small trading partner of the US; their bilateral trade amounts to no more than $37 billion annually, with a trade deficit of $7.4 billion in Israel’s favour.[18] Netanyahu pledged to address this.
Trump’s second goal was to coordinate on dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue, while warning Netanyahu not to sabotage the negotiations Washington has initiated on the issue. Trump may also have sought to push Netanyahu toward a new ceasefire in Gaza, despite his contradictory statements on the matter. On the one hand, he reiterated his call for Palestinians to be displaced from the Gaza Strip and the US to take control over it, while on the other, he expressed a desire to reach a ceasefire agreement without delay. In any case, the arrogance with which Netanyahu had treated Biden was clearly absent. Trump himself is an extremely arrogant person, obsessed with control. That said, there is limited chance of a major rift in his relationship with Netanyahu.
[1] Liza Rozovsky, “Despite His Flattery of Trump, Netanyahu Was Dealt the Cold Shoulder in the Oval Office,”
Haaretz, 8 April, 2025, at:
https://acr.ps/1L9zRq7.
[2] Michael D. Shear and Aaron Boxerman, “With Trump’s Return, Netanyahu Faces Fewer Restraints On Gaza Than Ever,”
The New York Times, 8 April, 2025, at:
https://acr.ps/1L9zRme.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “Full text of Trump, Netanyahu in Oval Office: ‘We’re having Direct Talks with Iran’,”
The Times of Israel, 7 April, 2025, accessed on 17/4/2025, at:
https://acr.ps/1L9zRAq.
[5] Amichai Stein, “Trump-Netanyahu meeting largely unsuccessful, tariffs remain threat – analysis,” The Jerusalem Post, 8 April, 2025, at:
https://acr.ps/1L9zSg7.
[6]The Times of Israel, “Full text.”
[7] Stein, “Trump-Netanyahu meeting.”
[8] Tia Goldenberg, Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller, “Trump says the US will hold direct talks with Iran; Tehran says they’ll be indirect negotiations,” Associated Press, 7 April, 2025, at:
https://acr.ps/1L9zRQu.
[9] Jon Gambrell and Amir Vahdat, “Iran's foreign minister says he will have indirect talks with US envoy over Tehran's nuclear program,” Associated Press, 7 April, 2025, at: :
https://acr.ps/1L9zRHO.
[10] “Tehran sceptical ahead of upcoming US-Iran nuclear talks,”
Al Jazeera, 8 April, 2025, at:
https://acr.ps/1L9zROF.
[11] Caitlin Doornbos, “US deploys six B-2 bombers to Indian Ocean base ahead of Washington’s talks with Iran as tensions flare,”
The New York Post, 8 April, 2025, at:
https://acr.ps/1L9zRAC.
[12] Gambrell and Vahdat, “Iran’s foreign minister.”
[13] Hafezi, “Iran sceptical.”
[14] Ibid.
[15] Rozovsky, “Despite His Flattery.”
[16] Goldenberg, Madhani and Miller, “Direct talks.”
[17] Lazar Berman, “Netanyahu says Iran deal will only work if nuclear facilities blown up, otherwise military force needed,”
The Times of Israel, 8 April, 2025, at:
https://acr.ps/1L9zRHI.
[18] Goldenberg, Madhani and Miller, “Direct talks.”
